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The NCL Executive Office Called Me Today...

HuddysDad

By HuddysDad,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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HuddysDad

HuddysDad

Posted
Posted (edited)

I got a phone call from the NCL Executive office this morning with the ominous sounding message "We need to talk to you about your accommodations, please call us back as soon as possible." Oh no, we are sailing on Breakaway on November 1st.

 

I thought maybe an upgrade was being offered, but that is not usually handled by the Exec office.

 

They were calling to inform me that the Spa Thermal Suite (which comes as part of the Spa Mini Suite we booked 20 months ago) is going to be shut down for the length of the cruise to make repairs.

 

This was pretty much the only reason we booked this cruise, the Thermal suite is nice and quiet, a great place to relax and get away from the general noise of the ship.

 

I couldn't get them to tell me why they are making repairs to the whole suite during a booked cruise. All of the Spa balconies and Mini Suites are booked. I am sure many people are going to be upset.

Edited by HuddysDad
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Got Tequila?

Got Tequila?

Posted
Posted (edited)

Did they offer any type of compensation since you wont' have use of that area of the ship?

 

I did notice they pulled all the spa cabins from the Breakaway November 1st sailing date, just for that one week.

Edited by Got Tequila?
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grouchomarx

grouchomarx

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it is for the Nov 1st Breakaway sailing. They offered $500 on board credit, which is nice, but doesn't give me a nice quiet place to relax. Will try and get into the Vibe Club.

 

 

The Vibe club will be nice and quiet. On our sailing last spring it was basically empty. Nobody even used their cabanas they paid for. Hot tubs were always available and empty. Not the same as the spa, but the spa thermal suite did get crazy crowded. So I hope you'll still be able to enjoy your trip. :)

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HuddysDad

HuddysDad

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The Vibe club will be nice and quiet. On our sailing last spring it was basically empty. Nobody even used their cabanas they paid for. Hot tubs were always available and empty. Not the same as the spa, but the spa thermal suite did get crazy crowded. So I hope you'll still be able to enjoy your trip. :)

Thanks for the encouraging words. We will make the best of it.

 

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

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hansolosmom

hansolosmom

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Vibe is an outdoor area. You won't be able to use it sailing from NY in November for a couple days going out and coming back. Just a friendly reminder.

 

Well, you might not use it, but there are always crazy people like my husband still wearing shorts at this time of year & would be out there :)

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motleyfan

motleyfan

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it is for the Nov 1st Breakaway sailing. They offered $500 on board credit, which is nice, but doesn't give me a nice quiet place to relax. Will try and get into the Vibe Club.

 

500 bucks is a pretty good deal, I'm booked in a Haven spa suite, I'll take the five hundred bucks not to use the Spa.

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Leavethekidswithmom

Leavethekidswithmom

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Are you happy with the $500? You may be able to negotiate a Haven suite for that $500, call them back and tell them that after talking with your DH, he is VERY unhappy and he will only be satisfied with a H9 or any other Hx, it's that time before your cruise that they are offering upsells.

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hawkeyetlse

hawkeyetlse

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That amount of OBC seems like not enough. That probably represents the premium you've paid for the room compared to a regular minisuite. hardly what I call making it right. call back and go for 1K
The 7-day spa pass is worth $199 per person, so assuming the OP booked for two people, $500 OBC is very generous compensation for losing the spa. If they paid much more than that compared to a regular mini-suite, then that was a foolish purchase. Asking for $1000 is just greedy.
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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted (edited)
The 7-day spa pass is worth $199 per person, so assuming the OP booked for two people, $500 OBC is very generous compensation for losing the spa. If they paid much more than that compared to a regular mini-suite, then that was a foolish purchase. Asking for $1000 is just greedy.

 

 

 

OP should ask for more. NCL doesn't have to say yes. But it opens up negotiations. $500 is too low IMO for the disappointment and barely makes up the premium cost of the room. If a spa suite costs $400 more for two people than a standard mini suite, then really it is only $100 OBC for the inconvenience.

 

Looking at historical pricing for a spa minisuite on that sailing versus a guarantee minisuite (non spa) depending on when OP booked there could have been as much as a $470 difference in pricing, PER PERSON, for a spa minisuite over a regular minisuite.

 

I don't think asking for $1K is greedy at all. I think the $500 OBC is an insult. Someone that spends $2500-3000 per room, to basically (MAYBE) get the premium back plus $100 (that won't even cover 2 vibe passes) and you think any more than that is greedy?

 

A simpler solution would be for NCL to refund OP their money down to whatever the lowest historical cost for a regular minisuite since the spa suite has no benefits now. But that would never happen...

Edited by LMaxwell
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hawkeyetlse

hawkeyetlse

Posted
Posted (edited)

Looking at historical pricing for a spa minisuite on that sailing versus a guarantee minisuite (non spa) depending on when OP booked there could have been as much as a $470 difference in pricing, PER PERSON, for a spa minisuite over a regular minisuite.

You are comparing M9 and MX, but for most people, the equivalent of M9 (spa mini-suite) minus the spa access is not MX (guarantee mini-suite). Obviously it serves your argument to compare the most expensive and the least expensive mini-suite categories, but it is an unfair comparison. Only the OP knows what category they would have booked if they had known at the time that the spa would be unavailable, and only the OP knows how much their spa mini-suite is worth to them now that it doesn't come with spa access after all. They actually seemed quite OK with the offer of $500 (which certainly would be enough to pay for 2 Vibe passes). Edited by hawkeyetlse
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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
You are comparing M9 and MX, but for most people, the equivalent of M9 (spa mini-suite) minus the spa access is not MX (guarantee mini-suite). Obviously it serves your argument to compare the most expensive and the least expensive mini-suite categories, but it is an unfair comparison. Only the OP knows what category they would have booked if they had known at the time that the spa would be unavailable, and only the OP knows how much their spa mini-suite is worth to them now that it doesn't come with spa access after all. They actually seemed quite OK with the offer of $500 (which certainly would be enough to pay for 2 Vibe passes).

 

You keep ignoring the premium they paid for a spa suite over a regular minisuite.

 

The largest possible difference to an M6 for that sailing versus a spa mini was $450 per person. It could have been less, sure, but that's the largest delta there was. I was lowballing saying that there was only a $200 per person premium on the spa mini versus regular mini. Could have been MORE.

 

Most of the $500 OBC goes towards covering the premium of the room that OP paid already. Anything left over isn't really enough to "do anything". If you totally ignore the premium, sure, you can do a lot with $500 OBC.

 

Why doesn't NCL just refund the difference to the lowest historical price for an M6 category? NCL is keeping OP's money and only offering a credit...for them to buy things onboard.

 

OP seems happy. I have no idea why. they are getting a rotten deal here. But hey, if they are happy, they are happy, right?

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HuddysDad

HuddysDad

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Are you happy with the $500? You may be able to negotiate a Haven suite for that $500, call them back and tell them that after talking with your DH, he is VERY unhappy and he will only be satisfied with a H9 or any other Hx, it's that time before your cruise that they are offering upsells.

I tried for a Haven suite to make up for what is happening, but they wanted $1500.00. Not doable right now. Needless to say, this is our 5th and last NCL cruise. Just poor management as of late.

 

Sent from my XT1031 using Tapatalk

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hawkeyetlse

hawkeyetlse

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You keep ignoring the premium they paid for a spa suite over a regular minisuite.
I'm not ignoring it; I'm saying that if it was more than $200 per person, then they shouldn't have paid it in the first place, because that is all the spa pass is worth. You keep saying the premium was potentially $400-something per person, but we have no indication that the OP paid anywhere near that much. I'm guessing that they are OK with the $500 because that more than covers their material losses here.

 

As for the disappointment and inconvenience, well, who can put a price on your dreams, right? :p

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